Friday letters to the editor

May 25, 2012

No more airport runway delays

Ignorance is no excuse.

The Dania Beach City Council's derailment of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport runway expansion is just the latest in a litany of obstructionist, election-year posturing and pandering to vocal owners' money-grabbing agendas.

Broward County assumed control of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in January 1948, ownership in 1953, and first scheduled flights in 1956. Any homeowner's little "slice of heaven" purchased less than 56 years ago was done so with the full knowledge of the airport and its likely growth potential.

The current 857 homes eligible for some $62 million in "sales assistance," and some 1,750 homes eligible for soundproofing, is a most generous accommodation. Sure beats the "eminent domain" alternative.

Stop your carping — feigned ignorance is no excuse. If you can't stand the heat (noise), get out of the kitchen (move).

Craig A Kasparek, Coconut Creek

Obama and gay marriage

This letter is about the article on the African-American community and President Obama's view of gay marriage. I can't believe they are willing put their politics before their faith and what they think is a sin in the eyes of God. You either believe something or not. You can't just believe something when it is convenient for you.

The African-American community has been voting for Democrats for decades, and what has it gotten them? Your vote should not be given up so easily. What is the sense in Democrats trying to change when 96 percent of a group is voting for them no matter what they do? Please don't give your vote up so easily.

Candida Perez, Tamarc

Obama disrespects Court

Since when is this country ruled by a president with unlimited power and control? Apparently Obama believes he is omnipotent and totally above every other branch of government, even the Supreme Court! I am appalled by his disrespectful remarks and immature and unprofessional behavior toward the justices of the Court. He is like a bratty petulant child when he does not get exactly what he wants. What he wants is wrong, and I do hope his "Obamacare" is overturned. This would not be unusual because the Supreme Court has already overturned hundreds of legislated bills. Only then can members of Congress learn from their mistakes and more carefully and thoughtfully develop true healthcare reform.

Your May 16 editorial that cyclists need to obey laws hit the nail on the head.

I am a motorist and when a slow bicyclist is before you, or packs of up to 30 people pass by you, it is very scary. While I am riding in a bike lane or shoulder, I feel I am being pushed off the road and can land in the gutter as there is little room on the right to maneuver, forcing you to go down either on the grass or pavement.

More than once have the paramedics come to my rescue. They are the unsung heroes.

You mention in your article about giving out tickets to cyclists, and warnings. I believe tickets are more appropriate. When you ride your bicycle on the street, you are a vehicle and should obey all the rules of the road. I just recently took the AARP Safe Driving course and in their Florida booklet there is one paragraph regarding bikes on the road.

How many people know about the 3-foot-law? When motorists pass bicyclists, they must leave three feet of space on the right.

In 2010 in Broward County, there were 554 bicycle injuries reported and five deaths.

In Palm Beach County, there were 367 bicycle injuries reported and four deaths. In our state of Florida, there were 4,599 reported injuries and 76 deaths.

Maybe knowing and receiving a ticket for not obeying the law would help cut down on the above statistics.

Although it is the law for children under 16 to wear helmets, it also should be the law for all cyclists to also wear helmets. (I do not own stocks in any bike helmet company.)

Despite huge increases in their net worth and share of the national income over the past decade, whereas the average American has suffered, it is not enough for the top 1 percent. Eduardo Saverin, one of the founders of Facebook, is a good example of what is wrong with America today: there is no social contract.

Mr. Saverin, an immigrant from Brazil, came to the United States and was fortunate enough to attend Harvard, one of the most elite colleges in the world.

There he met Mark Zuckerberg and helped found Facebook. Upon the IPO, Mr. Saverin's shares were worth over $446 million.

So how does he repay his gratitude to the United States? He renounces his U.S. citizenship and is moving to Singapore, which has no capital gains tax.

Doing the right thing would have cost him about $67 million in tax, leaving him with over $379 million.